Hyuga Yue's Old Clothes

The sky gradually brightened, and Hyuga Hinata woke up. Usually, she would wake up even earlier. The early bird catches the worm, and her father always sternly demanded that she wake up early to practice Gentle Fist.

However, today was different from the past. How she wished she was still at home, and all this being kidnapped was just a dream. But when she opened her eyes, all she saw was the ceiling of the carriage.

Beside the sleeping bag was a small tea table. The empty bowl she had left after eating yesterday was gone, and now other things were placed on it.

As soon as she crawled out of the sleeping bag, she heard Uchiha Jie's voice.

"Wig, false eyelashes, and colored contact lenses. Put them on yourself, and then I'll do your makeup."

He couldn't possibly lock Hyuga Hinata in a cage like a real kidnapper, preventing her from ever getting out.

They would likely have to live together for quite some time. Naturally, he had to let her walk in the sun, which meant she needed to be carefully disguised so that ninjas and civilians alike wouldn't recognize the kidnapped Hyuga Hinata standing beside him.

The colored contact lenses were ordinary black ones, easy to put on. They wouldn't affect her Byakugan's vision and could effectively conceal those well-known eyes.

However, when Hyuga Hinata held the purple wig, she felt a bit lost. Her own hair wasn't short, and even if she could put on the wig after tying it up, it would look very strange.

"Forget it, let's just do this."

In the end, even Uchiha Jie gave up. He put the wig back into a scroll, picked up the eyebrow pencil and other cosmetics on the table, and sat opposite Hinata, beginning to draw on her face.

The carriage continued to bump along the road. After a short while, Uchiha Jie put down his tools and lightly clapped his hands.

"Done," he said, looking up and down at his masterpiece, smiling brightly.

Hyuga Hinata couldn't see her own face, but Uchiha Jie thoughtfully took out a small mirror and placed it in front of her.

"Th-this is me?"

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Hyuga Hinata couldn't believe it was her. Was this really herself? She looked so cute, it was almost unrecognizable.

Her eyelashes were slightly curled, complemented by the drawn eyeliner, making her eyes look like water. Her eyebrows were drawn a bit thicker, her cheeks had a light blush, and her lips were painted with a light purple lipstick.

Her bangs were no longer neatly covering her forehead but were swept diagonally to one side, gathered at the side. A small ponytail was tied at the back of her head with a red ribbon, and her exposed ears had somehow been adorned with blue-green earrings.

Uchiha Jie then took out a set of clothes and placed them in the carriage. Afterward, he lifted the curtain and got out.

Hyuga Hinata picked up the clothes, unfolded them, and her cheeks immediately flushed red.

Normally, she only had a few sets of clothes: the white casual wear she wore at home, and the thick pants and jacket she wore to school. She liked to hide herself in her clothes, as if that way no one would notice her.

But what lay before her now were not the familiar thick clothes. Instead, it was a red dress embroidered with light purple flowers, a children's style that perfectly fit her figure.

There was also a pair of light purple tabi socks, a pair of wooden clogs, and a small toy ninja sword, looking exactly like the one she wanted to give Sister Yue.

"Hurry up!"

A voice from the driver's seat in front of the carriage urged her on.

"We'll buy you underwear when we get to the village. If you don't hurry, I'll come in and help you put it on."

Hinata gritted her teeth, took off the clothes she had been wearing since yesterday, and put on the light dress, fastening the ninja sword to her waist.

"I-I'm done," she said, sitting in the corner of the carriage, hugging her knees, her voice faint.

Uchiha Jie suddenly appeared in the carriage and looked Hinata up and down after she had changed. He nodded slightly.

"Hmm, Yue's childhood clothes look quite suitable on you," he commented.

"Yue? Sister Yue?" Hearing the familiar name, Hinata suddenly looked up, staring at Uchiha Jie, then at the clothes she was wearing.

These were indeed not new clothes; they didn't have that brand-new scent. The edges of the hem were a little frayed, and the purple embroidery seemed to have faded slightly.

"These are Sister Yue's childhood clothes?" she asked, sounding incredulous. "But Sister Yue always liked to wear white the most. She hated clothes of this color."

Uchiha Jie didn't answer her question but instead asked, "Do you know Hyuga Yue?"

Hinata's eyes widened. Although she didn't say it out loud, her expression clearly conveyed, I don't know her, do you?

"I've known Yue since I was younger than you," Uchiha Jie said, chuckling softly. His gaze swept over Hinata from head to toe.

As he looked, he seemed to fall into a memory.

"When she first entered the Ninja Academy, she was always first in class. From the initial chakra refinement, to shuriken throwing and the three basic jutsu, even learning the Will of Fire, I couldn't keep up with her."

"She loved to wear red, sometimes pink, and tie her hair with a purple ribbon. She also liked to imitate our homeroom teacher back then, painting her fingernails and toenails purple."

"She loved to laugh, and I loved to laugh too. Other classmates were jealous of our smiles and gave us a nickname: the 'Smiling Sisters'."

"She was the older sister, and I was the younger sister..."

Uchiha Jie's expression turned strange.

"Because I was an Uchiha defeated by the Hyuga Clan."

"But that doesn't matter, because she would tell very funny jokes and always made me laugh. Sometimes, even Luyu, who sat in the farthest corner of the classroom, couldn't help but chuckle."

"We also skipped class together. That hateful old man would make us read aloud from the books all day, neither explaining nor caring if we were actually learning. Half the class would run away during that lesson."

"We would train together. Her Gentle Fist improved every day, while my taijutsu was terrible. She wanted to teach me some Gentle Fist techniques, but my Sharingan couldn't see the chakra points."

"Later, an elder from the clan secretly gave me a ninja sword, and I started practicing swordsmanship. That was the first time I defeated her."

"Later, she also got a ninja sword, the one on your waist, and then I couldn't beat her anymore."

Uchiha Jie's expression became helpless.

"Later, the elders in the clan tried many methods, but I had to admit that Yue's talent was higher than mine. She learned anything faster than me, plus my Sharingan hadn't awakened for a long time."

"But one day, she didn't come to school..." Uchiha Jie's voice lowered.